N.C. A&T Recognizes 11 Distinguished Alumni at Fall Convocation

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University celebrated its annual Fall Convocation program virtually Thursday, Oct. 29, via Zoom. During the program, Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. presented the state of the university and welcomed alumni to the “Greatest Homecoming on Earth” virtual celebration.

Jelani M. Favors ’97, Ph.D., served as the keynote speaker. An award-winning author and associate professor of history at Clayton State University, Favors received major fellowships in support of his research, including an appointment as a Humanities Writ Large Fellow at Duke University in 2013. He also was an inaugural recipient of the Mellon HBCU Fellowship at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke in 2009. In addition, he was invited to co-teach the course, “Citizenship and Freedom: The Civil Rights Era,” alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Taylor Branch in 2014 at the University of Baltimore.

In 2020, Favors’ first book, “Shelter in a Time of Storm,” received the Museum of African American History (MAAH) Stone Book Award and the Southern Regional Council and University of Georgia Libraries’ Lillian Smith Book Award, and was a finalist for the Pauli Murray Book Prize from the African American Intellectual History Society. His research and commentary have appeared in media outlets, including CNN, C-SPAN, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Conversation.

Favors earned his Ph.D. in history and M.A. in African American studies from The Ohio State University, and his B.A. in history with honors from A&T.

Favors’ speech during convocation focused on the liberation of Black people through the stories of Margaret Walker, a poet, author and former college professor at Jackson State University who documented significant moments during the Jim Crow Era and Civil Rights Movement. He also delved into the lives of the A&T Four, President Lewis C. Dowdy, Chief Justice Henry Frye and many other alumni who impacted changes at A&T.

Favors posed a question to all Aggies: “How can we live in the heights of our time? How can we move from simply living to becoming – becoming our greater selves that we are called to be?

“Well, I come bearing good news, Aggies: you were built for this. Look around you. This space around you does not question your humanity and dignity. It is a liberating space that has been built upon the freedom dreams of generations of Aggies who have proceeded you,” said Favors. “North Carolina A&T continues to produce agents of social and political change that is encoded in the institution’s DNA. Allow me to be more direct: because that’s what Aggies Do!”

While the university commemorated the 94th edition of the Greatest Homecoming on Earth, it also honored and recognized 11 alumni for their outstanding work and accomplishments on behalf of their respective colleges and service to the alumni community.

Favors also received the Distinguished Alumni Award for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

The following received Distinguished Alumni Achievement Awards:

Michael S. Regan ’98 – College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences

Regan was appointed secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environment Quality in 2017 by Gov. Roy Cooper. He has served in numerous leadership roles for the Environmental Defense Fund. He also spent a decade with the Environmental Protection Agency, working in the air quality and energy programs for both the Clinton and Bush administrations. A native of Goldsboro, N.C., he has an MPA from George Washington University and a B.S. in earth and environmental science from A&T.

Walter Glover, CPA ’71 – Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics

Glover serves as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the U.S. Olympic Endowment. He has been with the endowment for three years after spending more than 15 years at the U.S. Olympic Committee as chief financial officer and in other roles. He recently was elected to the board of directors of the YMCA of the USA. He is the immediate past chair of the YMCA Pikes Peak Region and is a board member of Ent Federal Credit Union, Colorado Springs Sports Corp. and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. He received an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.S. in accounting from A&T.

Nicole M. Pride, Ph.D. ’18 – College of Education

In August 2020, Pride became the 12th president of West Virginia State University. She began her career in the corporate and nonprofit sectors and left the industry to begin her service in higher education at A&T. She served in several roles at the university including vice provost for academic strategy and operations, chief of staff and chief communications officer. In addition to her professional appointments, she has served on numerous boards and committees. She has been recognized with several honors including the Triad Business Journal’s 2018 Outstanding Women in Business Award and the PR News’ 2017 cohort of Top Women in Public Relations in the nation. She earned bachelor’s degrees in business management and economics from North Carolina State University, a master’s in corporate and public communications from Seton Hall University, and a doctorate in leadership studies from A&T.

Darryl Klugh ’00, ’03 – College of Engineering

Klugh is a proud supporter and ambassador for A&T. He was inducted into the North Carolina A&T Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and has remained connected to the university. These interactions include serving as the keynote speaker for the 2017 Fall Convocation. In the same year, he created the Darryl M. Klugh Jr. Engineering Endowed Scholarship to support future Aggies in their pursuit of degrees in engineering. He also served on the North Carolina A&T Alumni Association board of directors and is chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Board and the Curriculum Committee. He earned two degrees from A&T: a B.S. in electrical engineering with high honors and a M.S. in electrical engineering with a 4.0 GPA.

Langston Clark ’07 – College of Health and Human Sciences

Clark is an associate professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio in the College of Education and Human Development. He has more than 20 research publications. As a public intellectual, he is the founder and host of Entrepreneurial Appetite, a podcast series dedicated to building community, promoting intellectualism and supporting Black businesses. In addition to serving the community by mentoring Black men through higher education, he founded “From A&T to Ph.D.,” a community of support for Aggies in the doctoral pipeline. He completed his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in physical education teacher education (PETE) at the University of Texas at Austin. His M.A. is in adapted physical education from The Ohio State University and his B.S. in physical education is from A&T.

Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. ’96 – College of Science and Technology

Bennett was recently named Michigan State University’s vice president and chief diversity officer. He most recently served as Northwestern University’s inaugural associate vice provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer. He received his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from Meharry Medical College and his B.S. in biology and Spanish from A&T. His postgraduate work includes fellowships at Harvard Medical School, Northeastern University and Harvard University.

De’Andre James Cherry ’14 – Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering

Cherry is a Boeing engineer responsible for analyzing and planning workflows to improve the manufacturing efficiency of the Space Launch System (SLS). Commissioned by NASA, the SLS rocket will be the primary launch vehicle for deep space exploration missions, carrying the crewed lunar flights of the Artemis program and future manned missions to Mars. He also serves as the professional development chairman of the BSC Black Engineer Association and is an executive board member of the Summerville YMCA.

Phyllis Moore ’75 – Howard C. Barnhill Distinguished Service Award

Moore retired from Giant Food LLC in 2014, and during her tenure coached and mentored young women. She serves as president of the Gate City Alumni Chapter. She is also an active volunteer with several local organizations including Southern Alamance Food Empowerment, the Greensboro Urban League Ministry and her church’s food bank ministry. She received her bachelor’s in business administration from A&T.

Victoria Revelle MPH, CHES® ’11 – Julia S. Brooks Achievement Award

Revelle has been active serving in various roles with the A&T alumni association at the local, regional and national levels. She also has a successful professional track record as a public health practitioner and public health advocate. She is frequently sought globally to present on health equity and social determinants of health. She also co-authored policies adopted by the American Public Health Association.

Sydney Powell ‘ 06 – Velma R. Speight Young Alumna Award

Powell is an active member of the Washington, D.C., alumni chapter and serves in various leadership roles including corresponding secretary, membership chair and coordinator for numerous community service and social activities. She also volunteers with other organizations including Girl Scouts of America and is certified to register Maryland residents to vote. She received her bachelor’s in journalism and mass communication from A&T.